Roofer George McCarthy eyes medical pot facility in Dartmouth

A new 52,000-square-foot medical marijuana facility could open its doors in Dartmouth.

George McCarthy has applied for a licence to launch a grow-op called Prime Pot Inc. at a Woodside plant.

The facility would require about $3 million to get off the ground and employ up to 30 people.

A successful roofer with more than 30 years experience, McCarthy said he’s waiting for Health Canada’s nod of approval before getting to work.

“The licensing process is quite a chore. These facilities need to run like a pharmaceutical business following strict guidelines for growing plants to ensure they meet government standards.”

Although McCarthy sees enormous potential in the medical marijuana industry, he said one of his motivations is to help people.

“I watched a video on YouTube of a little girl that was having seizures every few minutes and nothing seemed to help her. But then they tried giving her an oil that was extracted from a medical marijuana plant and she was fine. It was pretty amazing.”

McCarthy travelled to the United States recently to tour a medical marijuana plant and learn the tricks of the trade.

While there is growing competition in the market, he said he’s determined to launch a viable business from the Woodside location.

Under the old medical marijuana licensing program, people with a doctor’s prescription and a licence from Health Canada could grow their own pot plants. But as of April 1, the drug is supposed to be purchased from a Health Canada-licensed producer.

The new rules have led to a proliferation in proposed medical marijuana facilities across the region.

As the drug becomes more established, the number of users is expected to grow from 40,000 people today to 450,000 people over the next decade.

Vida Cannabis Inc., an Ontario company, is expected to open Nova Scotia’s first medical marijuana production facility in Pictou County.

The renovation of a 93,000-square-foot industrial building in Stellarton is already underway.

The head of Vida Cannabis has said he expects Health Canada to issue the company its medical marijuana growing licence once security systems are installed at the building.

Meanwhile, OrganiGram Inc. is a seed-stage company in New Brunswick set to open a 20,000-square-foot facility in a Moncton industrial park.